January 2, 1915       EVERY idea, however powerful and profound it may be, repeated too often, expressed too constantly, becomes stale, insipid, worthless.... The highest concepts thus lose their freshness after a time and the intelligence which delighted in transcendental speculations suddenly feels an imperious need to abandon all reasonings and all its philosophy and contemplate life with the marvelling gaze of a child, so as no longer to remember anything of its past knowledge, were it even a sovereignly divine one....     It is true to say that the divisions of time are purely arbitrary, that the date assigned to the renewal of the year varies according to the latitude,

January 15, 1916       O THOU whom I may call my God, Thou who art the personal form of the Transcendent Eternal, the Cause, Source and Reality of my individual being, Thou who hast through the centuries and millenniums slowly and subtly kneaded this Matter, so that one day it could become consciously identified with Thee, and be nothing but Thee; O Thou who hast appeared to me in all Thy divine splendour – this individual being in all its complexity offers itself to Thee in an act of supreme adoration; it aspires in its entirety to be identified with Thee, to be Thyself, eternally Thou, merged for ever in Thy Reality. But is it ready for that? Is Thy work fully accomplished? Is

August 2, 1914       WHATE are these powerful gods whose hour of manifestation upon earth has come, if not the varied and perfected modes of Thy infinite activity, O Thou Master of all things, Being and Non-Being and What is beyond, Marvellous Unknowable One, our sovereign Lord? ....     What are these manifold brilliant intellectual activities, these countless sunbeams illumining, conceiving and fashioning all forms, if not one of the modes of being of Thy infinite Will, one of the means of Thy manifestation, O Thou Master of our destinies, sole unthinkable Reality, sovereign Lord of all that is and all that is not yet....     And all these mental powers, all these vita

October 5, 1914 *       IN the calm silence of Thy contemplation, O Divine Master, Nature is fortified and tempered anew. All principle of individuality is overpassed, she is plunged in Thy infinity that allows oneness to be realised in all domains without confusion, without disorder. The combined harmony of that which persists, that which progresses and that which eternally is, is little by little accomplished in an always more complex, more extended and more lofty equilibrium. And this interchange of the three modes of life allows the plenitude of the manifestation.     Many seek Thee at this hour in anguish and incertitude. May I be their mediator with Thee that Thy l

* THE MOTHER - Algeria, 1903-05

February 5, 1913*       Thy voice is heard as a melodious chant in the stillness of my heart, and is translated in my head by words which are inadequate and yet replete with Thee. And these words are addressed to the Earth and say to her:–Poor sorrowful Earth, remember that I am present in thee and lose not hope; each effort, each grief, each joy and each pang, each call of thy heart, each aspiration of thy soul, each renewal of thy seasons, all, all without exception, what seems to thee sorrowful and what seems to thee joyous, what seems to thee ugly and what seems to thee beautiful, all infallibly lead thee towards me, who am endless Peace, shadowless Light, perfect Harmony, Certitude,

PUBLISHER'S NOTE This volume contains the prayers and meditations selected for publication by the Mother from her diaries of 1912 to 1919, and five prayers of a later period. They were first published in 1932 under the title Prices et Meditations de la Mère. The present volume is a new translation of the text, except for the prayers translated by Sri Aurobindo or revised and published under his guidance. These prayers are identified by an asterisk sign (*). Further details may be found in the Bibliographical Note at the back. This book comprises extracts from a diary written during years of intensive yogic discipline. It may serve as a spiritual g

July 1, 1914       WE hail Thee, O Lord, with adoration and with joy, and give ourselves to Thee in a gift constantly renewed, so that Thy will may be accomplished upon earth and in all the places of this universe.     When we turn towards Thee the thought is mute but the heart exults; for Thou shinest resplendent in all things, and the least grain of sand may be an occasion for worship.     We bow down before Thee, we unite with Thee, O Lord, in a love that is limitless and full of an inexpressible beatitude.     Oh, grant this sovereign joy to all. Page - 188 July 4, 1914       O SOVEREIGH Force, O victorious Power, Purity, Beauty, suprem

Bibliographical Note The first edition in French, entitled Prières et Méditations de la Mère, was published in 1932. The second editions, which included one additional prayer and an introductory note by the Mother, was issued in 1944. The third edition appeared in 1952 and the fourth in 1973, both under the shortened title Prières et Méditations. English translations of sixty-one of the prayers were published in 1941 under the title Prayers and Meditations. There ate manuscripts in Sri Aurobindo’s hand for five of the prayers. Fro the rest, there are manuscripts written by a disciple and extensively revised by Sri Aurobindo. He also revised the typed copies of some o

June 1, 1914       O VIVTORIOUS power of divine Love, Thou art the sovereign Master of this universe, Thou art its creator and its saviour, Thou hast permitted it to emerge from chaos, and now Thou leadest it to its eternal goal.     There is not a thing so humble but in it I see Thee resplendent, not a being apparently so hostile to Thy will but I feel Thee live in it and act and radiate.     O my sweet Master, essence of this love, I am Thy heart, and the torrents of Thy love pass through the entirety of my being and flow out to awaken Thy love in all things or rather to awaken all things to the consciousness of Thy love which animates all.     All those who do